‘UK First' Waste Plastic to Hydrogen Project to be Delivered at Protos

Peel Environmental, part of Peel L&P, is working in partnership with Waste2Tricity to deliver a ‘UK first’ plastics to hydrogen project at its 54-acre Protos site near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.

Using pioneering DMG® (Distributed Modular Gasification); an advanced thermal treatment technology developed by Powerhouse Energy – it will produce a local source of hydrogen from unrecyclable plastics. This clean and low-cost hydrogen could then be used to initially power buses and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in the region, before being rolled out to hydrogen cars, helping to reduce air pollution and improve air quality on our roads.

The £7m plant will treat up to 25 tonnes of waste plastics a day that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration. This will be the first commercial scale project in the UK, with the technology having been developed by Powerhouse Energy over several years at the University of Chester Energy Centre next door to Protos. In addition to the production of decentralised hydrogen the plant will also generate electricity, which could be supplied to businesses located at Protos via the private network.

Waste2Tricity is currently in discussions with suppliers of unrecyclable plastics across the region, including companies that could locate at the Protos site. The development would see a further 25 full time permanent jobs created at the Protos site with over 100 jobs created in the North West during fabrication and construction.

Myles Kitcher from Peel Environmental said:

“We have a huge problem with waste plastic in the UK – almost 1.2 million tonnes goes to landfill every year. Working in partnership with Waste2Tricity we are developing a closed loop solution where plastics are brought to Protos and recycled on-site with the leftover material used to create hydrogen instead of ending up in landfill. This project really sums up what Protos is about – using innovative technologies to create value from waste, recover resources and provide low carbon energy sources which then can be used on site.

“Not only will this help tackle the problem of waste plastics, it will provide a local source of hydrogen which could be used as a clean and low cost fuel for buses, HGVs and eventually cars, helping to reduce air pollution and improve air quality on our roads. The hydrogen revolution is taking place now in the North West and this project shows how we’re leading the way.”

John Hall from Waste2Tricity said:

“This will be the first of many waste to hydrogen projects for Waste2Tricity in the UK and overseas. The Protos site is ideally located in a strategic position in the North West where we have access not only to unrecyclable plastics but also a concentration of energy intensive industries. The beauty of Protos is that it can provide everything we need in one place.”

David Ryan, CEO of PowerHouse Energy, said:

“We’re delighted to be delivering our first commercial scale plant in the UK. We’ve been on site at the University of Chester Energy Centre, next door to Protos, for several years and it’s great to see the project come to fruition. Our technology is a sustainable solution for dealing with plastics that would otherwise end up in landfill, and because we’re generating hydrogen it’s much more efficient than other Energy from Waste processes. The theoretical basis of this technology is nothing new, some components have been around for over 100 years, we’re just applying it in an innovative solution.”

It is expected that a planning application for the development will be submitted in Spring 2019 with site works commencing later this year.

Notes to Editors

About Peel Environmental and Protos

Peel Environmental, part of Peel Land and Property (Peel L&P), owns and develops waste infrastructure projects. It has achieved consent for a range of energy infrastructure schemes including a 35MW Energy from Waste plant at Protos in Cheshire, 21MW Energy from Waste plant and 250,000tpa AD and MRF in Glasgow; and a 20MW Energy Centre at Houghton Main, Barnsley. Peel works with investors, waste management companies, technology providers and contractors to secure a deliverable business model for each project. www.peelenvironmental.co.uk

Peel Environmental brought forward and consented the Protos development, previously known as Ince Resource Recovery Park. The 54ha (134 acres) development site has full outline planning consent and part detailed planning consent for general manufacturing and distribution uses (B1, B2 & B8), as well as a biomass facility and an Energy from Waste facility.

Protos sits within the Energy Innovation District (EID) which brings together energy users, network owners, innovators and partners working alongside Cheshire & Warrington LEP, Cheshire West and Chester Council and the University of Chester. With the objective of driving down the cost of clean energy the EID is an opportunity to deliver a new decarbonised energy system for the North West of England, meeting the Government’s Clean Growth agenda while boosting economic growth and investment.

We are an ambitious regeneration business with generations of history, heritage and expertise in our DNA. First established in 1971, Peel L&P is now responsible for some of the most transformational development projects in the UK today.

Owning and managing 12 million sq ft of property and 20,000 acres of land and water, our holdings are concentrated in the north west of England but we also own and manage significant assets throughout the UK with a total portfolio value of £2.6 billion.

As a part of the Peel Group; we are integral to a business that strives to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Our legacy matters. We take great pride in the outcomes we achieve, the people we work with, the way we go about our business and the transformational projects we deliver.

Established in 2008, Waste2Tricity (W2T) is a project developer and operator in the energy-from-waste sector. Its mission is to treat plastic waste as a fuel, preventing further contamination of the world’s oceans and environment whilst at the same time creating clean energy and hydrogen.

W2T has an exclusive geographic license with PowerHouse Energy (AIM PHE), an AIM listed business that has developed a Distributed Modular Gasification system that is able to convert unrecyclable plastic into high-grade hydrogen for use as a transport fuel whilst also generating power for export by private wire or to the grid.

The Protos development is W2Ts first commercial project, with the company looking at a pipeline of future projects across the UK. The next stage of development will focus on switching the technology to allow it to produce hydrogen for use in a distributed hydrogen network as well as syngas production for generating electricity.

PowerHouse Energy has developed a proprietary process technology - DMG® - which can utilise waste plastic, end-of-life-tyres, and other waste streams to efficiently and economically convert them into syngas from which valuable products such as chemical precursors, hydrogen, electricity and other industrial products may be derived. The PowerHouse technology is one of the world’s first proven, modular, hydrogen from waste (HfW) process.

The PowerHouse DMG® process can generate in excess of 1 tonne of road-fuel quality H2, and more than 28MW/h of exportable electricity per day. The PowerHouse process produces low levels of safe residues and requires a small operating footprint, making it suitable for deployment at enterprise and community level.

PowerHouse is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market under the ticker: PHE and is incorporated in the United Kingdom.